The University of Missouri-Kansas City (abbreviated UMKC) is an institution of higher learning located in Kansas City, Missouri. The university got its start as an independent university in 1933, and was originally known as the University of Kansas City. In 1963 it became part of the University of Missouri system, and by 2002 its active enrollment had grown to over 13,000 students.
Its student body has included future mayors of Kansas City, such as Ilus Davis and Charles Wheeler, and a future U.S. president, Harry S. Truman. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Casey Stengel, attended, as did a former Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, Hilary Bush. H&R Block, the tax return preparation and financial services company, was co-founded by Henry W. Bloch, another former student. The School of Business is named after Bloch and is ranked high nationally. United States Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Whittaker attended law school at UMKC, when the law school was a separate school called the Kansas City School of Law. Also, John Ciardi, the poet and etymologist, taught here.
UMKC's mascot is Kasey Kangaroo and their teams go by the nickname the Roos.